1901: the size is about right for a wooden bathtub? If the tub were
boat-shaped
like a modern tub, and wooden, it'd have to be kept moist to not leak,
so the
basement makes some sense as a location.
Or , it could be for a 'food bank' (earthen storage for root
vegetables).
Or, a mushroom farm patch.
Heck, I don't know.
1902: perhaps a kitchen appliance, to shave ginger or horseradish.
Seems
a little unlikely as a vegetable peeler, it'd be hard to hand-hold.

Posting from Rec.crafts.metalworking as always.
1897) This looks to me to be a thermocouple on the end
of a reel intended to measure temperature at a distance. From
the physical design, and the range on the meter scale, I would
guess that it is for measuring the temperature at different
depths for predicting how deep the fish are likely to be.
Is there any way to measure the length of cable paid out?
The presence of the button suggests that there is some active
circuitry in there -- an amplifier to produce sufficient signal
over the relatively short range of the scale.
The linkage to water comes from the lowest reading being the
freezing point of water.
1898) Pliers with square drive sockets in one handle (probably to fit
valve stems when the handle is off -- either for security or
because it is being worked upon.
The spike on the end of each handle I suspect is for fishing out
old washers when they are being replaced.
Hmm ... perhaps it is for controlling the shutoff valves on
portable acetylene and oxygen tanks, and the points for clearing
clogged nozzles on the torch?
1899) Hmm ... something long and flat rolled up in the big end, with
a crank to either feed it out or to rewind it.
It looks as though part of the other end is designed to shear
off the flat something, and the gearing presumably can be set to
feed a precise length. Better contrast and a bit more detail in
the photos might show more.
1900) Hmm ... possibly a top of a lightning rod?
Or a holder for a bundle of hay to be burned held aloft?
It appears to be in a museum, FWIW.
1901) Cistern -- to store rain water for drinking and cleaning
purposes during periods between rain in dry parts of the
country?
1902) At a guess it is a plane for adjusting the fit of a door which
has swollen in humid weather without leaving piles of wood
shavings on the floor. It captures the shavings in the housing.
Or - it could be for taking shavings to sample the quality of
the wood -- perhaps for import duty determination or something
similar.
Now to see what others have suggested.
Enjoy,
DoN.

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